Nobody's Perfect
by Away with the fairies
Summary: Post-OotP. After seeing them in the pensive Harry Potter reflects on his parents, and how much he hates them. Then, he remembers...


Author: Away with the fairies

Title: Nobody's Perfect

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do I _really_ have to say it? :Sigh: Fine. The werewolf, the dog, the traitor and the Potter's aren't mine.

Summary: Post-OotP. After seeing them in the pensive Harry Potter reflects on his parents, and how much he hates them. Then, he remembers...

A/N: Right. This is the first non-Marauder Harry Potter fic that I've finished, and I'm really proud of it. So enjoy and feel free to review.

Harry Potter hated his parents; hated that one of the first things someone would say to him was about them.

'Looks EXACTLY like James' They'd praise approvingly. 'Yes, except he has Lily's eyes,' They'd add firmly, 'He just like James, y'know.' 

But he wasn't. Harry had seen James in Snape's pensive. He was cocky and arrogant. A show off that took pleasure in embarrassing Snivellus Snape, impressing Harry's Mother. He vaguely reminded Harry of Draco Malfoy, but that git was raised by Lucius, who wouldn't be twisted with him as a father?

James had been the reason Snape went to Voldemort. Harry was sure. He'd seen Snape glare at Potter, with such hatred, such promise. "You'll pay." he'd whispered, sweet justice, vengeance is what he wanted.

And that was what he'd gotten.

James Potter had died Hallowe'en night 1981. Two years after Severus Snape became a Death Eater and half a miutes before Severus Snape had turned spy for the light. 

James Potter had died knowing his wife, the one he'd fought for for so long was next to go.

Lily, Harry's perfect Mother. The magical world's perfect person, perfect wife, perfect Mother, perfect heroine.

Perfect hypocrite. 

Perfect whore.

Perfect bitch. 

After that memory in the Head of Slytherin's pensive Harry had taken comfort in the fact that at least his Mother was what she was preached to be; A kind, gentle soul who helped those in need of it even though they hated her.

But then, then, Harry thought, If it was Snape she was helping. Why did she never once ask him if he was okay? Unhurt?

Lily hadn't so much as glanced at Snape, Harry remembered as he lay on his back, on his bed at number four Privet drive, who was choking on the grass.

No, Harry recalled, her determined gaze had been solely fixed on Harry's future father.

She hadn't cared about Snape. It was James she yelled at, almost smiled at when he turned the young Slytherin upside down, James' attention she seeked as she screamed. Snape had known that. As he lay panting on the softly tilted hill, despise clearly glittering in his onyx black eyes, he'd known that Lily Evans was using him as much as Potter and Black were. For all she'd 'defended' him, she still ran after she'd ranted at Potter (The purpose of everything in the first place) and didn't stop to help him up, or add him as James resumed torturing him.

Lupin was just as bad. Clearly disapproving yet silent for fear that he would be shunned. Sirius and James had stuck by him when they'd found out his horrifying secret and in one way he was doing the same. Repaying a debt that should never have existed.

Sirius, Sirius,_ Sirius, _Harry mused, twirling his wand carelessly in his fingers, for the first time since the beginning of his rant sadness crept into his unsure voice. Sirius detested Snape to no end, more than James did. James only mildly disliked him. Harry wasn't surprised that Sirius was like that- not after what he'd seen the summer before-he'd been raised in darkness after all, for all Sirius inner-strength, he couldn't be _entirely_ light. Sirius Black gleamed with shades of grey, for all solid colour was all he saw in. And in Sirius' jaded eyes Snape was evil, Snape was Slytherin, Snape was _pathetic_. Snape was what Sirius would have been if he'd never met James.

Harry hated them all, the cruelty they were at sixteen.

But, Harry reminded himself, flipping through his cherished photo album until he paused at a certain special one, a recently added one, his favorite. Smiling, Harry traced the photo with his finger. 

Below him a reluctant seventeen year old James Potter dressed in graduation robes was being forced to apologize to a shocked Severus Snape. Sirius and Remus were both laughing; one from morbid amusement, the other from funny approval. It was Lily Evans, who was whacking James on the head with her graduation cap for not being sincere enough, a diamond engagement ring sparkling on her hand, who caught the eye of her son and smiled back.

Nobody's Perfect.

__


End file.
